Unless you can afford a personal financial planner, the only person that can get your money in order is you. By setting weekly "money dates," you can build a healthy financial habit by making budgeting a little more fun. »2/05/15 3:00pm 2/05/15 3:00pm

For many, debt or damaged credit is largely due to high medical bills or gaps between what insurance will cover and what the doctor wants to be paid. FICO is poised to do something about that this year with a new formula for how your score is calculated—one that doesn't penalize medical debt in collections the way it… »1/13/15 5:00am 1/13/15 5:00am

Water and power are things we have to pay for, but there's plenty you can do to lower your utility bill. This game from Stanford University and the U.S. Department of Energy is free, fun, and shows you the importance of only using water and power when you need it. »12/26/14 3:00pm 12/26/14 3:00pm

Automatic payments are convenient, but discovering that a company billed you for unexpected increases can be extremely frustrating. Manually checking your bills every couple of months ensures your automatic payments don't catch you off guard. »12/04/14 7:30am 12/04/14 7:30am

When you mortgage your home, you'll likely have escrow payments added on to the bill each month. This money sits in an account to pay the taxes and insurance. You don't get to say how much goes in each month. If you've got an established history with the bank, you can save by paying these expenses yourself.»11/15/14 12:00pm 11/15/14 12:00pm

Big bills have a nasty habit of taking up too much of one of your paychecks every month. Reduce the stress and help curb spending by dividing major expenses across all your paychecks in a month before they're actually due. »11/10/14 4:30am 11/10/14 4:30am

We all expect that we're the only ones using the electricity in our house. However, sometimes faulty wiring or dishonest behavior can leave you on the hook for your neighbor's power needs. »10/31/14 6:00am 10/31/14 6:00am

Some devices drain more energy than you realize. And, yes, other devices only waste a tiny amount, but you might be surprised at how they add up. This tool gives an estimate of how much "energy vampires" cost you each year. »10/23/14 8:31am 10/23/14 8:31am

We all know that bills have a nasty tendency to shift or inflate over time. Some changes may be expected, but others can creep in and cost you more. How often do you check to ensure you're paying what you expected to pay? »10/09/14 6:30am 10/09/14 6:30am

Credit cards get a bad rap because they're too often used to delay payment on something. However, there's one way to use them responsibly that can be immeasurably helpful: consolidating monthly bill payments into one date. »10/08/14 8:30am 10/08/14 8:30am

Google recently added a new feature to Google Now in which it will remind you to pay upcoming bills. Now, Google Now also lets you ask what's coming up—just invoke Google Now and say "Show me my bills" or "my bills due this week." »10/08/14 7:26am 10/08/14 7:26am

An illness or job loss can overwhelm a household budget that had been working just fine. You think you have all the bases covered — and then something goes horribly wrong and suddenly there are more payments due than there is money. Which bill do you pay first? »10/03/14 8:31am 10/03/14 8:31am

Most of us know (or can easily calculate) how much money we make a year. There's another number that matters much more to your personal finance than that, though: how much of that you get to keep. »9/08/14 8:30am 9/08/14 8:30am

We've said before that one of the best ways to reduce your bills is to ask. Of course, many of us don't want to take the time to call up every single company we owe money to. That's why it might help to set aside a day for the task. »7/31/14 1:00pm 7/31/14 1:00pm

When you change income levels, or even when you have varying bills from month to month, it's tempting to adjust how much cash you keep easily accessible. If you really want to save, however, place a hard cap on those liquid assets, no matter how much you make. »7/23/14 11:00am 7/23/14 11:00am